Senate Finance Committee Votes Against Government-Run Health Insurance Plan

FOXNews.com

Public Option is rejected by key Senate Committee

In a decisive vote that could forecast the demise of a proposed government health insurance plan,the Senate Finance Committee voted twice Tuesday against creating a "public option"that would compete with private companies.

The two votes marked a victory for Montana Democrat Max Baucus,the Senate Finance Committee chairman,who is hoping to push his middle-of-the-road measure through the panel by week’s end. It also kept alive the possibility that at least one Republican may yet swing behind the overhaul,a key goal of both Baucus and the White House.

"My job is to put together a bill that gets to 60 votes"in the full Senate,Baucus said shortly before he joined a majority on the committee in defeating efforts to rewrite a key portion of his draft legislation. "No one shows me how to get to 60 votes with a public option,"he said,using the term used to describe a new government role in health care. It would take 60 votes in the 100-member Senate to overcome any filibuster Republicans might attempt.

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